Next Door Neighbor
by Nexa
Summary: After a long time in the past, Kagome wants to return to school in peace... And this time, it's not just Inuyasha who's preventing her from doing so! InuKag MirSan
1. Chapter 1

Next Door Neighbor

Disclaimer: I don't own the show, the manga, or any merchandise. Except for my super-cute Kirara doll!

On to the story!

Chapter One: The Outsider

~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Kagome rushed down the stairs, glancing at her house before she got too far to see it. The trees waved and rustled in the wind, dancing around her as she ran to school. This wasn't the first time she had had to run; she'd be damned if it wasn't the last. She was almost to the bottom of the stairs. Just a little more running, she thought. I won't be late if I sprint!

"Whoa!" A girl's voice said. Kagome felt the impact and followed the other girl to the ground. She landed across the girl's lap, facing opposite the way she was trying to go. She looked up, finding herself almost face to face with a small girl. Quickly scrambling up, she apologized profusely.

"I'm so sorry!" Kagome said, holding her hand out to the girl on the ground.

"It's okay." The girl said, accepting the hand and pulling herself up. Then she quickly dusted herself off before holding out her hand. "Lidia Bradford. Freshman in Kaibara High School; I just moved."

Kagome hesitantly took the hand and shook it. The girl looked normal, at the very least. Dark haired, wearing a tee shirt that said something in English, and a pair of blue jeans that were ripped in several places. "Kagome Higurashi, first year in Kaibara High School." She said. She looked at the girl again, deciding that the rips were cosmetic, not signs of abuse, as she had first thought. "Why aren't you wearing a uniform?"

"Oh, I meant first year." She paused to brush her hair out of her face. "I haven't gotten one yet. I have to change before first period. For some reason, they were all out of mediums." Lidia said, shrugging. She didn't notice Kagome's sigh, or her off-into-the-distance look; Kagome was obviously thinking about all the medium-sized uniforms she had ruined. "Come on, Miyuki." Lidia said to the little girl. She held her hand out to the tiny blond girl with corkscrew curls and a tiny, lacy dress.

Kagome stared at the adorable face that was peeking at her through her hair. "Who is she?"

Lidia smiled pleasantly, picking up the small child. "… My little sister." She said. There was an undertone of regret that Kagome picked up on immediately.

"She's very cute." Kagome said, trying to relieve some of the obvious tension. Bending over, she picked up her bag, and what appeared to be two of Lidia's. She handed Lidia the two other bags.

"Thanks. We'd better get going, I still have to drop her off and grab our lunches."

"Oh." Kagome said, remembering school. "Wait a second! I'm going to be late if I don't hurry up!" Kagome said, turning around to say a quick goodbye to Lidia and Miyuki.

"Wait up!" Lidia said, glancing at the ground. "I don't know the way there. When I was going there to be enrolled, I had to keep Miyuki under control. Can you walk with me and show me the way?"

"Oh. Sure, I guess." She said. At least I'll have an excuse for being late, she thought to herself.

They walked in relative silence together, Miyuki pointing some things out along the way. She spoke in English, which confused Kagome even more, between Lidia's English tee shirt and after hearing Lidia speak with an unnoticeable accent.

"Okay, here's the deli. You want to come with me?" Lidia asked Miyuki. The little girl nodded, proving that she understood Japanese. "I'll be right back, okay?" Lidia said to Kagome before going inside.

Kagome waited for a few minutes, staring at her world and deeply inhaling the polluted air, before Lidia came out, carrying a small sack and a plastic bag. Lidia explained their reason for stopping. "Miyuki doesn't like Japanese food; she only eats western-style things." Lidia tickled Miyuki. "Spoiled little brat!" she joked in Japanese. They walked on, slower than before because Miyuki was walking, carrying her lunch in her hands.

"Do you like chicken?" Lidia asked. While the question from nowhere startled Kagome, Miyuki walked on like it was an everyday occurrence.

"Yeah… why?" Kagome asked, adjusting her backpack nervously. The random demon attacks must be getting to you, Kagome, she thought to herself, especially if any outburst will send you into cardiac arrest.

"Good." Lidia sighed. "The lady in the shop saw you and was wondering if you wanted anything. So I bought you a chicken sandwich. Hope you don't mind…" Lidia said, blushing slightly. 'She's forward one moment and shy the next.' Kagome thought to her self. 'Is she bipolar or something?'

"Oh! No, it's okay. I forgot to bring my own lunch. Thank you." Kagome said, smiling.

"Okay. Good, for a minute there I thought I'd imposed." Lidia said, smiling a very white, but slightly crooked smile.

Kagome suddenly noticed how tall this girl was; she was almost as tall as Sango. Miyuki and Lidia certainly did look alike; the same face shape, the same color eyes. It even seemed as if Miyuki had inherited Lidia's ears, which were pointed slightly, like a demon, or elves' might have been.

Kagome quickly brushed off the topic in her mind. They had reached the day care, where one of the owners was sweeping the sidewalk that led up to the building.

"Here we are, Miyuki. Here's your drink…" Lidia paused to grab something out of the paper sack she had set inside her bag and handed it to Miyuki. "And here's your things. I'll see you this afternoon, okay?" Lidia said, hugging the small girl and patting her on the back.

Kagome understood the response. Slightly. Okay, so all she could understand was 'Bye bye'. The little girl had said more, though, and it irritated her that after four years of English class all she had to show was 'Bye-bye'.

"Kagome! What a pleasure. I haven't seen you in a long time." The day care lady said as they walked by. "You seem so much better than last time. You looked like you had had a run-in with death!" The lady said.

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Motosuwa. My condition has been improving recently." Kagome quickly lied through her teeth. "I'm allowed to go to school now."

"Well, good for you." The polite woman smiled. "Have a good day."

"You too." Lidia called back, before turning to Kagome. "What about being sick?"

"Long story short, I'm sick all the time." Kagome said. She hated to be lying about her condition so soon after meeting her, but… Sometimes, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?

"Me too. You must have a weak immune system. No offense, of course." Lidia said, grinning again.

"None taken." Kagome said. 'Not another Hojo…' She couldn't believe the girl had fallen for it.

"So, where's the school?" Lidia asked, turning to Kagome a few seconds later.

"We turn on Third Street, then we go left on China Street." Kagome said.

"Okay." Lidia said, and she kept on walking. And walking. She hummed a lot, Kagome noticed, but she didn't recognize the song.

"Where did you move from?" Kagome asked. The silence, excepting the humming, was really getting to her.

"America. Southern Michigan." Lidia said.

"Michigan?" Kagome asked.

"Yep. A state in the United States, Northern America, normally cold and wet. Japan is a nice change of pace." Lidia held out a hand in the warm morning sunlight, showing Kagome just how pale she was.

"Where do you live?"

"Just down your street. The blue duplex." Lidia said. "Well, it's a duplex now…" Kagome nodded.

"I know where you're talking about. What are your parents like?" Kagome asked. Lidia fell silent, staring at the ground.

"I'd like to say that I've never met them." Lidia said. "That's the kind of people they are."

"I'm sorry…" Kagome said, not knowing how to react to the change of mood. It was almost as bad as Inuyasha sometimes.

"It's okay." Lidia said, shaking it off. "It's not your fault my parents are unholy bitches." Lidia laughed a bit before falling quiet.

"Turn here." Kagome said a few minutes later.

"Left or right?" Lidia asked, checking for traffic.

"Left." Kagome said, hitting the button. As the 'Walk' sign flashed, they scurried across the intersection.

"So, are you done prying into my life or can I expect more questions?" Lidia said, laughing slightly. She glanced over at Kagome's face. "What? Just because I'm slightly uncomfortable talking about my past doesn't mean that I can't, you know, talk about it." She grinned again.

"Why did your parents move here?" Kagome asked.

"They didn't. They're dead." Lidia said, with a completely straight face.

"I'm sorry." Kagome said, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable talking to this girl.

"It's okay. I moved here with the lady who's going to adopt me and Miyuki." Lidia said, rolling her shoulders and popping her neck. "She's that famous Japanese American Model… Oh, I forgot her name. I think it was Karen."

"She's adopting you and you don't know her name?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah, but she's only adopting me for publicity. She really wants Miyuki."

"Why?" Kagome asked.

"Miyuki is the one she can raise. You know, a little girl, potty trained and everything. I'm a teen with an attitude problem." Lidia said, shrugging her shoulders. "Not that I care. I only have three more years until I'm free." Lidia said. "So, do you live on the shrine?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Kagome said.

"That must be cool. Excuse me, but I'm an unholy, non-religious punk, so if I say anything that offends you, just let me know. I don't really have good manners." Lidia was laughing at herself again, like she always seemed to. It surprised Kagome a lot. "They're there, the manners are, but they weren't raised properly. They only work near adults that I'm trying to impress."

"Oh. I know some people like that. They don't even act kind around adults, though." Kagome laughed at the image of a red-clothed, white haired dog demon.

"Wow. They must be pretty cool." Lidia said. Kagome looked at her, and Lidia turned to look at her, too, noticing the glance. "I mean, well, they must not be afraid to be themselves. I'm not like that around a lot of people." Lidia said. "There's always someone to impress!" She said, loudly and dramatically.

Kagome looked away. "What makes me the exception?" She asked. "If I am one, that is."

"I don't know. You just seem so cool with the world… I used to know someone just like you. Attitude wise, you guys are identical." Lidia looked up. Kagome recognized the prayer the girl was mouthing before she continued. "Outwardly, though, you aren't. He's a he, a ghost, and, well, he had pink hair." She shrugged. Kagome picked up on the ghost part, but she didn't feel like asking.

"Pink hair? I thought you were from America." Kagome asked.

"Yeah. We have otakus and freaks over there, too. His sister dyed her hair pink, so she did his, too. And the little sister's hair." She paused. "I miss them. They were my first foster home." She said.

"Really?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah." Lidia said simply, and they continued walking in silence.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~

"So, this is the school?" Lidia asked. They had completely missed first period now, and they were sitting in the office, waiting for the principal to show up from some meeting. Lidia was sitting in her seat, looking around like a curious kitten.

"Yeah. Just a normal school." Kagome said, glancing around. She held onto her pass with white knuckles, her stress level rising to almost new levels. Demon battles? No problem. Dealing with the principal for the millionth time? Big problem.

"Oh my gosh, Kagome, what are you doing in here?" Eri asked from the doorway. She looked at the girl next to her and looked a little miffed. "Who's she?"

Kagome immediately released the death grip she had on her pass. She knew it would happen eventually, but she really wished it hadn't happened now, in the principals' office, of all places!

"Hey, Eri." Kagome said. She looked between Lidia, who was slightly irritated for some reason or other. Kagome was preparing to introduce them when two things happened.

First, Lidia loudly stated that she was Lidia, and that she didn't tolerate rudeness, especially when it was directed at her.

Secondly, the principal was walking down the hallway, talking to someone.

The principal looked up from a clipboard to see Lidia scowling at Eri, who was still agitated from Lidia's loud introduction. He smiled, marching forward, and clapping Eri on the shoulder.

"Miss Nozue, how are you today?" he asked loudly. His smile was almost too bright, and he was definitely happy about something. "We just received a message from Miss Higurashi's mother that she will be attending the entire week!" He beamed at the both of them before introducing himself to Lidia, and taking her to be fitted by the school nurse.

"Why was she so angry?" Eri asked as Kagome and herself walked towards their class. She flipped her hair over her shoulder in a nonchalant manner, which only served to worsen Kagome's mood. She didn't know why; she had been a friend of Eri's since elementary school!

"Lidia's a new friend of mine. She probably doesn't like being treated like an outsider." Kagome said stiffly.

"So?" Eri had always been one of the more… snobby friends of Kagome's. She was continually trying to be more and more popular. When had they started drifting away from each other? Had it really been a year since she had fallen down the well?

"Hey Kagome!" Ayumi and Yuka called in unison from the water fountains outside of the door. They ran over and hugged the girl in a violently loving manner, causing Kagome to gasp for breath.

"Kagome!" The teacher called from the doorway. Kagome looked over Ayumi's shoulder.

"The principal wants you down at the office." The teacher finished, turning to return to the class. Kagome looked at her friends questioningly, and Eri stated her thoughts. "You were just down there. Did you forget something?" Kagome shook her head.

"Well, here; I'll take your bag." Ayumi said, taking the school-approved bag. "I'll hang it on your desk, okay?"

Kagome nodded, and began trudging back to the office. What in the world did they want her for?

"Miss Higurashi, you left before I could talk to you." The principal said. He was rather… happy. Standing in the office was Lidia, but what really surprised her was Inuyasha, wearing a baseball cap and… actual modern day clothes! It was enough to make her faint.

"Kagome?" Lidia asked. Kagome was certain her face was completely red.

"Yes, Miss Higurashi, I'd like to say welcome back. That must have been quite a trip to England, all for the treatment for… what was it this time?" The principal seemed to ignore Inuyasha, focusing on Kagome for the moment. "Well, it doesn't matter; you're finally allowed to attend the school for weeks at a time. There are a few things your teachers wanted me to discuss with you… Your grades have been slipping, even with the make-up tests and extensions. Your math and science teachers say that you can test for the semester, meaning you take one large test that covers everything taught, but several others… the majority, sadly enough, require you to make up every test and assignment, but two are allowing extra credit…"

Though his demeanor had suddenly gone from happy-go-lucky to gleefully serious, Kagome decided to cut in. "Sir, why are they still here? Shouldn't my grades be between myself and my teachers?"

Lidia had the gall to fake an injured expression, which made Kagome's mouth twitch, but Inuyasha's ears shifted under the baseball cap.

"Well, Miss Bradford, after reading the syllabus, informs me that she has already completed this semesters' worth of work at her previous school, excepting the English portion… which she has proven to be fluent in. As for mister… Inuyasha, your mother sent him along with several things you seem to have forgotten." The dog demon smirked at Kagome, who glared at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Ah-hem!" The principal cleared his throat loudly. "The classes that require you to make up everything have given you a month-long extension, and ask that you turn things in as you make them up, in order to put everything in order. Since Lidia has assured me, and everything has been verified against her transcript, you two may go to the library and begin sorting out your work. Mister Inuyasha will leave as soon as you retrieve your work from him. You are dismissed."

He waved gleefully as they walked out of the office. "He is so odd." Lidia whispered.

Kagome laughed.

!!~!!~!!~~!!~!!~!!

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Will you stop that?" Kagome asked. She looked up from her book and glared at the drowsy girl across from her.

"What is the point of being allowed to spend the entire day in the library if I'm not allowed to use the computer?" Lidia grumbled for the umpteenth time. She stared at the physics book that was open beside her. "Not to mention, you're so far behind in your English and Literature classes that you won't focus on anything else." Lidia glanced out the window, over Kagome's shoulder. "At least the scenery is good. I love cityscapes. I guess it's from growing up a country girl."

"You talk too much." Kagome whispered. It didn't really matter, though; it was almost the end of the day, and despite the lack of computers, she had gotten a lot done. She was almost entirely caught up in her Composition class, and Lidia had said she could come over to study for Geometry and Physics.

"So who was calculator boy?" Lidia asked. Kagome's face took on a slightly red tint. This girl! Lidia had continually asked about Inuyasha's appearance; commenting on his 'awesome' eyes and that he had the 'coolest' hair she had ever seen. However, no matter how many times she asked, Kagome couldn't get angry at her, unlike the other three girls that continually questioned Kagome.

"Why aren't you wearing a uniform?" Kagome fired back. The other girl was reclining in her chair, playing with her hair like she didn't have a care in the world; she seemed to freeze, but Kagome thought she must have imagined it. Certainly, the other girls' smirk didn't falter.

"I'll tell you if you tell me." Lidia said. Kagome was slightly surprised; Lidia hadn't shown signs of telling the last time they had had this conversation.

"He's a friend." Kagome said. Lidia's smirk got bigger and Kagome's blush came back with a vengeance. "What kind of friend?" Lidia asked suggestively. She glanced up at Kagome with a perverted grin on her face.

"He's my _best_ friend, okay? We're not friends with benefits, okay?" Kagome tried valiantly to get her blush under control. "Why aren't you wearing a uniform?"

"Scars." Lidia straightened up, looking Kagome in the eyes before glancing away. "I have scars all over my legs. I'd need a much longer skirt than the ones they have right now if I were to attend school here." She looked at her pants for a moment before continuing her smirk, glancing over her shoulder at the clock above the librarians' desk. "Foster homes can be hell."

Kagome didn't know what to say to that. Lidia laughed at her pained expression, like she was caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Really, don't worry about it. I don't like to spread the information, so if you could keep it a secret? I'd appreciate it. I think you're the coolest person I know, right now, other than Miyuki and Drake." She smiled again. It was a wide, encompassing, trusting smile.

Kagome smiled back.

!~!~!~!~!~!~!

I know, right? How many times am I going to go back and re-do something that is just as mediocre as it was the first time? Well, I'm proud to say that this is much better, and that I thoroughly enjoy you reading it. Thank you very much! And now, if you wouldn't mind, please review; I love getting feedback, and if something just ticks you off about my story, why don't you tell me about it? Thank you in advance for the review. ^-^


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

Wow, did my original chapter two really suck that bad? Ugh. Well, now that I'm re-doing the entirety of the story, I might as well actually finish it. Here's chapter two.

Chapter 2: A Fumble

*****

"Haha!" "Then I'll see you later?" "Hey, don't die. I hear it hurts!"

Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched.

The new girl, the one from the office, had been polite. Too polite. She had introduced herself with a sort of elegance that was way too out of place in Kagome's time; after all, nobody from here had ever bowed as low in an introduction as that girl, especially to him.

She also said some of the most annoying things. Oh, he could hear her, all right; the tree wasn't that far away from the book room they had been spending the day in. She was just as insistent as the brat, as perverted as the monk, and… well, she probably had something in common with Sango.

She was also constantly upsetting Kagome. Scars? Well, first it had been the teasing, and the 'friends with benefits', whatever that was. But the scars had caused Kagome's heart to race like she was running. And why did she have to keep them a secret?

Not to mention, the talk of adoption and foster care and the constant ramble from the entire school had given him a bad enough headache for the day. And then she had the nerve to say something so weird and rude that he wanted to rip her head off.

"Don't die?" Kagome asked. "Why would I die?" 'My point exactly, wench.' Inuyasha though to himself as the girl laughed again.

"It doesn't really mean anything, Kagome; it's just something I say. Its… its like goodbye, only my own brand. You know?" Inuyasha could almost hear Kagome shaking her head.

"Lidia. You are too weird." Kagome said softly. It sounded like she was actually about to laugh. Why? Why was she laughing at something that stupid?

Okay, the girl could make Kagome laugh at anything, like Sango. Now there was one for the entire group. Except for him, of course. Nobody could replace him.

"Thank you, thank you very much." Lidia said. "Now that you're done with that assignment, help me put away the books."

There was general shuffling and creaking as they moved around the room, with Kagome passing directly by the window. She quickly turned around, looking at his tree. She smiled.

"Feh." He said to himself, turning away from the girl and hiding his blush. He was glad the breeze chose that moment to pick up, obscuring his face from hers with a hundred leaves.

"So, Kagome, are you still coming over to my house after school?" Lidia asked. She appeared next to Kagome, holding Kagome's bag, the one her other friend had brought her from the classroom.

"Well…" Kagome glanced out the window again, looking at the half demon before looking elsewhere. "I suppose I should, seeing as you have already demonstrated your skills with a calculator, and all." Kagome smiled again. A joyful one.

Inuyasha frowned. He didn't like thinking that Kagome was happier here than she was in the past. And just because of some stupid joke the other girl had made earlier… what was her name again?

"Well, Lidia, what do you want to focus on today?" That was the girl's name! Lidia, huh? What kind of name was that?

"Focus? If you come over early enough, we could finish your Geometry or your Physics, but if you can't come over until later, I'd bring your history; after all, you don't get many assignments from that class. It would be easy to do."

"Well, not many, but they're mostly research intensive. You know?" Kagome took her bag, glancing at the clock quickly before turning and looking towards Inuyasha. "The bell is going to ring in a few seconds, you know." Lidia obviously thought she was just stating the fact; she didn't look over her shoulder at where Kagome was looking. Inuyasha knew the warning was for him, though, and he jumped down from his perch and ran to the gates just in time to avoid breaking his eardrums from the sheer volume and pitch of the irritating bell.

He stood, silent and stoic, waiting for Kagome. Well, he tried to, anyway. He heard that pipsqueak of a boy ask Kagome another question about something called a movie and he quickly made off to disassemble him.

"Oh, hey, it's Inuyasha." One of the three girls said. They stood on one side of Kagome and the boy, and the Lidia girl stood on the other. Closer to Kagome than to the boy, he noticed; not like the other girls. She glanced over her shoulder and grabbed Kagome's arm.

"Hey, Inuyasha!" She said, not quite loudly. It was obvious to him that she didn't approve of the boy either. 'Point one for you, girl.' He thought to himself.

"Hey, Kagome. Come on, girl." He said. He took her other arm, the one Lidia hadn't grabbed, and they marched her out of the courtyard quickly and without fuss.

"That was… odd." Yuka said. She turned to Eri. "Do you think he's her boyfriend, you know, the lying, cheating, double crossing, two timing pervert?"

"No, the pervert was someone else, wasn't it?" Ayumi said. She smiled at them. "I have to go to work now. See you."

"Umm… Bye." Yuka said for both her and Eri before they walked away. They didn't know how to act around the second-year, older student, who stood in a daze; he felt so confused…

"Thanks for showing up when you did, Inuyasha." Kagome said from her spot between the two protectors. "It's getting…"

"Irritating? Obnoxious? Downright boring?" Lidia suggested in quick succession. "It seems like he's been trying for a while now. Why haven't you just given him a definite no?" She looked at Kagome's face. "Or should we save this for later, when there aren't prying ears?"

"No, it doesn't matter. He's just so… naïve, you know? Its hard to shoot someone down who is trying so hard." Kagome said.

"Well, I'd try harder, or else he's going to start stalking you. He seems pretty dedicated." Lidia said. "To be perfectly honest, though, he's just not your type."

"Really? What is my type?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha smirked; Kagome had venom in her voice.

"Inuyasha." Lidia said, deadpan.

_That_ wasn't what they were expecting. They both turned tomato red, which was ignored by Lidia, who started a monologue about Miyuki and how much she had grown in the past year.

"Hello, Lidia!" The same owner was outside again, this time helping a small boy rub dirt from his shirt and shorts. "Let me go get Miyuki."

"Hey, sis." Lidia said as the tiny girl came running out. Tiny curls were bouncing, a dress was trailing, and a tiny girl leaped three feet into Lidia's arms. Kagome was impressed, to say the least.

"She's… springy." Kagome said for the sake of conversation.

"Yes, she's very athletic. Much more so than her sister is." Lidia spoke in the third person, making Miyuki giggle. Inuyasha simply stared at them.

"Okay then…" Kagome said. They continued their walk home in relative peace.

Miyuki was trying out some new Japanese, though it seemed she spoke enough of it to get by in a conversation with the other four year olds. She pointed at Inuyasha once, pointing at his hair. "Shiro. White." She practically purred as Lidia patted her head. "Inu, dog." She continued, still pointing at Inuyasha.

"No, honey. Inuyasha, person." Lidia said. Miyuki giggled.

'There is something seriously weird about those two.' Kagome and Inuyasha thought in unison.

"I'll see you later, Kagome! Don't forget!" Lidia shouted up the steps after Kagome. Miyuki had fallen asleep about a block ago, and Lidia had expressed the want to put her to bed. "She needs sleep after the airplane ride over here." She had said.

"Okay, what's an airplane?" Inuyasha asked as they jogged up the steps.

"A large, winged hallway with the ability to fly." Kagome said quickly. She wasn't even breathing hard by the time they reached her house.

"What do they look like?" Inuyasha asked.

"Ask Sota, he'll show you; he has a tiny model from a field trip a long time ago." Kagome skipped up the last few stairs. "I just want to shout; the big battle is finally over!"

"If you're not careful, wench, you're going to fall." Inuyasha grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the house.

She was right, of course; they had finally won the big, ultimate battle against Naraku. It had been practically a month ago, he realized; a month spent healing wounds, a month since he had promised himself he would finally tell Kagome how he felt.

He quickly distracted himself with the details of the battle, including how he had actually teamed up with the disgusting wolf and cut the cursed Naraku's arms off. He remembered how, halfway through the battle, Kagura and Kanna had suddenly switched sides, helping them finally destroy what had been their master. As they died, along with their demented maker, they left behind two things: a fan made of bones and gold, and the tiny mirror Kanna had always carried. Kagome had both things in her pack, even after Inuyasha insisted they be destroyed.

Kagome insisted otherwise, claiming that, if she could purify the Shikon No Tama, then she could purify the mirror and fan as well. She accomplished it easily, just like he knew she could.

One thing kept their happy victory from being happy, though. Before the battle, he had spoken with Kikyo, telling her in no uncertain terms that he wouldn't be returning to hell with her. She had simply smirked, remarking that time would tell. He didn't relish that memory.

They had reached Kagome's house, and they quickly went inside, where Inuyasha's sensitive nose and Kagome's human one both picked up the same scent: Chocolate Cake.

"Surprise, Kagome!" her brother shouted, leaping out from behind the couch. "Happy early birthday!"

"What?!" Kagome shouted, though not loud enough to hurt Inuyasha's ears.

"Kagome, dear." Her mom called from the other room. "Come over and sit down, tell us about the battle."

Her mother looked pale. She was just as she had always been, but she was pale. It scared Kagome.

'A month is a long time to go without talking to someone you love.' Kagome thought to herself. She dropped her bag by the door, ran across the room, and hugged her mother.

******

"Why can't I come?" Inuyasha asked. He was sitting on Kagome's bed, watching her organize her notes and papers so she could finish at least her history homework. She stood up quickly, shoving the last of her things into a pile and sticking it in her bag.

"I don't need any more distractions than what I already have, Inuyasha." She said, pausing. "Sorry to sound so mean, but grades are important to me. I'll try to get done as soon as possible."

She turned to look at him with still slightly red eyes, and he had to resist the urge to grab her and never let go. "I'll be just down the road, in the blue building." She turned to leave. "Oh, and you can ask Sota to look at his airplane now!"

"Geez sis… what's your problem?" Sota asked as he walked into the room. "She practically shouted right in my ear!" He rubbed his ear theatrically. Inuyasha grunted. "So you wanted to see what an airplane was?" Sota offered.

"Keh." Inuyasha said.

******

"Oh, hey, Kagome!" Lidia said, answering the door. She quickly stepped back, letting Kagome into the large, long hallway. Kagome took off her shoes and slipped her feet into the slippers Lidia pointed to. "Come on and meet Karen." Lidia gestured with her hand and walked through the large arch on the left side of the hallway.

Kagome followed cautiously, glancing through the arch on the other side - which looked like a library - and stepping into the large, rectangular family room where a woman, twenty-five or so, was directing two men moving a couch.

"A bit more to the right." She said. Lidia walked up and tapped her shoulder, getting her attention. "Oh, hello there. You must be Kagome. Lidia said you might be coming over." She held out her hand and Kagome shook it, realizing that the face across from her, although it might look Japanese, was certainly more American in it's beliefs.

"Shouldn't the couch be on the other side?" Lidia asked. "Fung Shui, you know. Yellow goes on the west side of the room, brings financial fortune."

"Okay, then." The face smiled. "Sorry, please move it to the other side."

The men didn't grumble, which was admirable. They simply did what they were asked to do. Not at all like a certain dog demon, Kagome thought. She smiled, watching Lidia and her adoptive mother trade opinions for a while.

"Well, dear, you should get back upstairs; check on Miyuki, please, before you start studying? I'll be up by ten o'clock. Good night, you two." Karen said.

"Okay." Lidia said. She beckoned for Kagome to follow her and went through a door on the back wall to the kitchen, where there was a staircase on the other side of the building. The stairs went up several steps before taking a right turn and following the kitchen wall.

"My bedroom is at the end of the hallway. Go ahead, I'll be there in a jiffy, I just need to check on Miyuki." Lidia said when they reached the top of the staircase. She ducked into one of the rooms and opened the blinds on the window, letting in the light from the stars and the streetlights. She bent down and kissed the forehead of the little girl sleeping in the bed before running down the hallway and meeting with Kagome.

"Okay, so, did you bring your history?" Lidia asked. She smiled a wide, happy smile, and sat down at her desk, a small, wooden desk with a tiny metal swivel chair.

"Yeah." Kagome said. She smiled back.

"Okay, then, lets get started, shall we?" Lidia reached over to her radio, a tiny, white AM/FM with an antenna, and turned it on, making sure the music suited her background. Quiet, soft, with a hint of trumpet on the side. It was perfect.

"Okay, chapter twelve: Write a two-page essay on the contents of section four in this chapter and a one page personal response… Have you read the chapter?" Lidia asked Kagome, who nodded. "Then this should be a piece of cake!" Lidia said. "Especially since we'll be in the library again tomorrow, huh?"

*******

There wasn't a tree close enough, so Inuyasha sat on the roof. Of course, he made sure nobody could see him; he wasn't stupid.

After being shown what an airplane looked like, he had stuck around a bit, but just to make sure Kagome's mom was okay. She had cried with her daughter for quite a while. Inuyasha couldn't stand it, but he couldn't have run away, either. He simply settled for almost ripping his arms off at the elbows, gripping his upper arm so hard he cut off circulation. His arms were still tingling.

"So what happened then?" Lidia asked. Again. She was repeating herself a lot lately. Kagome spouted off a lot of nonsense about some rebellion, or something, but he was more interested in how long they were going to work. It seemed like they had gotten most of those 'essay' things out of the way, though.

"Lidia." An unfamiliar voice said, somewhere near the doorway. He tensed up for a minute before Lidia responded.

"Oh, hi, Karen. We were just wrapping up." Inuyasha could hear something moving, like on a bed. He strained to hear the shuffling of papers and the rustling of clothes.

"I was just getting ready to go to bed. It's only nine o'clock, but I have the feeling you two might need to get some sleep for tomorrow. Good night, Kagome; Lidia will show you out."

"Good night, Karen. It was nice meeting you." Kagome said.

"Okay, are you done packing? I didn't mean to keep you here this long. Come on, if we hurry, maybe your mom won't be so upset." Lidia got up from her metal chair, which clinked against something in her room. "Lets go."

Inuyasha jumped down and landed nimbly before the door. He knocked, once, twice; three times, loud enough for them to hear but not enough for the child - Miyuki - to wake up. There was still something that bothered him about those two, Lidia and Miyuki. It was odd…

"Oh, hey, Inuyasha." Lidia said, opening up the door. She stepped aside to let Kagome through, not remarking on Inuyasha's less than modern clothing. She waved and smiled happily. "Be careful, you two. And, Kagome, if you want to study tomorrow, I'm free, too. Good night!" she said cheerfully.

"Thanks for walking me home, Inuyasha." Kagome said. She held her bag with both hands, not really willing to move. The bed had been so warm… she had begun to fall asleep. Only Lidia's constant questioning had kept her awake, and that had been starting to fail. At least they hadn't mentioned the red eyes, Kagome thought to herself. "Did mama send you to walk me home? Am I late?"

"Feh. No, your mom was asleep when I came here; she probably still is. You told her a lot, remember?" Inuyasha said.

"Yeah." Kagome said softly. "I didn't want her to worry about the big part of our trip… You know, the demons and the fighting… Getting kidnapped several times… I really didn't want to keep anything from her, but if she knew how dangerous it really was…" Kagome rubbed her hands absentmindedly.

Her hands… They were just something that had changed so much over the past year. The blisters she had gained and endured in the past year, learning how to aim, and how to shoot a bow and arrow… not just for herself, but also for Inuyasha and the others. The others… Miroku, Shippo, Sango, Kirara, and even Myoga… they had all changed her, too. She wasn't the same little gossip girl she had been a year ago in middle school; she didn't care about movies or social cliques or celebrities. She was a warrior now, and a priestess. She was important.

She looked up at Inuyasha, and watched him watch her for a moment before looking away, down the road. She missed Inuyasha's ear twitch or the smirk he made before he, too, turned to look at the future.

"Come on, girl." He said. He reached down and scooped her up, lifting her like she was nothing and leaping the stairs quickly, and seconds later they were at her door. She carefully opened it, leading them into the slightly messy house.

"Your mother is still asleep, young lady, so I'll let you wander in this late once." Her grandpa said, almost grouchy. He turned off the television and stood up. Kagome walked over and hugged him, tightly, making him lose his breath.

"Oh, go to bed, young lady. You have to get used to school again." He said. He was still trying to fake the grumpy atmosphere, but Kagome saw right through him. She smiled at him, radiating happiness.

"It's good to be home, grandpa."

She didn't know just how much those words tore at Inuyasha's heart.

It was a few minutes later that she walked in on him getting ready to leave for the well. He looked guilty, but he hesitated; had she been saying that home thing to put the old man's mind at rest?

"Inuyasha, you can spend the night, you know." She had her hair up in a ponytail, which made her look so much younger. He didn't say anything in response.

"What's the matter?" she asked. She lifted her alarm clock to set it; putting it back down on the bedside table made a distinct clink as the hammer hit one of the two bells. She looked up, looking directly into his eyes.

"Feh." He said simply. "I was gonna go home."

"Oh." Kagome looked down. He looked away, out the window. He was hesitating again. "I was wondering if you wanted to spend the night?"

She had looked up again, pausing to let him respond. She could see his willpower falter; he didn't want to go. It made her happier than she could have ever thought.

"Please?" She didn't use any particular voice, and she didn't use any particular face, but that one word had him caught; he wasn't going to leave, especially when Kagome wanted him there so much she would ask. He closed the window, making sure it didn't slam, making sure it was latched.

"Gaah!"

"Thank you, Inuyasha." Kagome said from behind him, where she was hugging him across his torso. She was holding on tight enough to break his spine. He twisted himself around, hugging her back. It was hard to let go when she climbed into bed. Moving to sit down near the wall, he was stopped by a hand.

"Inuyasha." Kagome said. "I trust you not to do anything Miroku might. We can share the bed, okay?" She smiled, melting his heart and brain. It was all he could do to say Keh before climbing into the bed. Kagome pulled the blanket up around his shoulders and grabbed his arm, holding on tight. He tensed before relaxing.

"Thank you, Inuyasha." Kagome whispered, causing the dog demon to tense again and blush. From her position at Inuyasha's side, Kagome smiled, a tiny, happy smile.

********

"Do you like it?" Karen asked. Lidia sat on one of the kitchen stools, balancing herself as carefully as she was balancing a bowl of Ramen in her hands.

"I love it, Karen. Thank you." She said politely. She looked around herself; the kitchen was spotless, gleaming. She smiled. The living room and library were perfect, too. Three bedrooms would be a bit much, though.

"You sure you have enough money? I don't want you to starve." Karen said. She took another draw off her cigarette, blowing the smoke away from Lidia.

"Everything's paid for, isn't it? I think that much should be fitting, seeing as I won't make any extra charges, you know; I won't leave the lights on, I won't let food go to waste. I promise."

Karen looked carefully at the girl across from her. It was a challenge for the girl to look that brave. After all, living on your own in a foreign country was difficult, especially if you were only a teenager.

"If you feel you have enough, I'll be taking Miyuki with me in the morning." Karen signed the papers on the table and stood up from her stool, putting her cigarette out in the single ashtray on the kitchen table. "A few thousand dollars a month, excepting mortgage, utilities, and tuition." Karen shook her head. "You must be insane."

"You're adopting my younger sister, whom I would rather have safe and away from me than in my arms and starving." The look Karen gave her was meticulous, sweeping the girls pale face and dark eyes.

"I didn't survive a coma just to let my sister be killed in some foster home." Lidia said. "Besides, I'm eighteen, even if I did spend two years of my life in a coma. I'm a legal adult now."

The smile on her face was grim.

********

The end of Chapter 2, and much better than the original, if I do say so myself; I'm glad that I rewrote it. Please, review and tell me if you like the original better, even though I would have to disagree with you. And please review if you liked it better than the original. I'd appreciate that, too.

Thank you very much for reading this! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Next Door Neighbor

Disclaimer: I own nothing mentioned in this fictional work. I only have a few more sessions of therapy to help me get over it, too...

Okay, finally, chapter three. I can move on again! Yay!

Chapter 3: Changing

*****

"Kagome! Hey!" Lidia shouted. She seemed just as happy and spry as she had been the previous day. The only difference was the outfit; she was wearing a pair of blue jeans that had no decorative rips or tears, and a light blue shirt with numbers and circles. She held her bag to her chest while she ran, waving her hand above her head maniacally.

"Hey, you." Kagome said. Inuyasha sniffed. There was still that odd smell, all right; a smell of something weird on top of the already strange smells of this time. He looked over his shoulder and up to the top of the stairs, where Sota was rushing down the last few steps to catch up to them.

"Hey sis? You forgot -" He was unfortunately cut off by his inability to maintain balance at such a high speed, and proceeded to trip down the stairs and be caught by Inuyasha.

"Be careful, kid!" Inuyasha grunted before setting Sota down. As it was, he had just earned some more 'Hero Points' with his biggest fan, though Kagome was less than thrilled that Lidia had been given a taste of what Inuyasha was capable of. She took her frustration out on Sota by pulling on his ear.

"Just what did I forget, huh?" Kagome asked. She gave his ear a tug before letting go.

"This." Sota said, handing her something with a rustle. Lidia didn't have a clear view of it, but she didn't seem to care; she was busy humming to herself.

"Thanks." Kagome said, less than enthusiastically. She carefully smoothed out the next in her Grandfathers' series of excuses for her absences on her leg before sighing. She glanced at the reason this time; apparently, she had been in London having a bone marrow transplant for her weak immune system. She sighed again.

"Come on, Kagome." Sota and Lidia said at the same time. Inuyasha's ears twitched under the cap he was wearing; the tones they used were identical. It seemed they were pros.

Kagome began walking towards the school building, staying closer to Inuyasha than she had during the walk home the previous day - especially after the comment Lidia had made. Just thinking about it made her blush.

"Where's Miyuki?" Kagome asked. She wasn't looking directly at Lidia then, but she thought she saw Lidia's smile at Sota's antics falter for a moment. Inuyasha certainly noticed something, but that was more by chance; Kagome's out-of-the-blue question had caused him to look at Lidia to see what she would say.

"Karen took her when she left." Lidia said simply.

"Who's Miyuki?" Sota asked.

"Only the most adorable four year old to walk on the planet." Lidia said, smiling her wide, crooked, white smile. She laughed. "She's my little sister."

"Oh." Sota said. He looked at Kagome quickly.

"Hey, squirt." Kagome said. "Your school is over there." She pointed over his shoulder, down the street, where a group of boys was walking away from them.

"Oh, bye then, Kagome, Inuyasha, Lidia." He waved as he ran towards his school. Inuyasha Feh'd, and Kagome and Lidia waved, before they continued on their way.

"Do you think they'll have my uniform ready?" Lidia asked as they rounded the block. She was always a few feet away from them, entirely different from the way she had been the day before. Kagome wondered briefly if she was bi-polar before responding.

"It depends, but I think you can count on it." Kagome quickly looked at Lidia's jeans before looking back at the girl's face. "Are you used to skirts?"

"Sort of. I'll grow into it. I'm not really worried about it." She waved her hand flippantly, gesturing in an apathetic way. She reached the gate first, turning quickly. "The coast is clear." She said jokingly before walking up the sidewalk, past several groups of students, including one of Eri's new groups. Eri quickly detached to talk to Kagome, while Lidia, reinstating her grip on her new friends' wrist, pulled them through the crowd quickly, and up the stairs to the doorway.

"Lets go put that homework you finished on your teacher's desk and go to the library." Lidia said, loudly. She quickly opened the shoe locker and changed, barely letting Kagome finish before ripping her arm out of her socket on the way up the stairs.

"Okay, okay." Kagome said as they walked into the library with time to spare. "You certainly are enthusiastic today." Lidia strolled towards a different table; she was avoiding tables that could be seen from the door or the librarian's desk.

"I need to go get my uniform." Lidia said, finally choosing the table farthest from the door. She set her bag down, covering some particularly gruesome graffiti, before she looked at Kagome again. "Be safe now, you hear?" Her face and voice were completely serious before she patted Kagome on her shoulder and walked out of the room.

'She is a weird one.' Kagome thought to herself. 'I wonder if I can trust her?'

"Excuse me, Miss Higurashi?" The librarian asked from the desk.

"Yes?" Kagome asked as she carefully traversed the rows of books and tables to the front of the room.

"The principal just faxed me a list of your English, Geometry and Physics assignments… They should be done printing in about three minutes." The librarian joked, handing Kagome a few sheets of paper covered in scribbles and, very rarely, legible writing.

"Your teachers decided to get together and write out a list of homework assignments." The librarian said, somewhat overly cheerful.

Kagome sighed.

"Oh, don't worry, it won't be so bad. Especially not with your friend helping you." The librarian said. He chuckled. "Friends who are willing to sit in a dusty, tome filled room all day are definitely worth keeping." He winked and turned back to his computer game of solitaire.

"Thank you." Kagome said. She smiled just the littlest bit before walking to the very back of the room and sitting down, pulling out a pen and crossing off the assignments she had already done.

Three pages of notes from her teachers later, she found that she had barely made a dent in the assignments. She sighed, pulling out her notebook and writing the date on yet another piece of paper. She glanced at the clock again. Where in the world _was_ Lidia?

The door creaked slightly and a pale hand held it open for a moment. Kagome really couldn't believe her eyes; it was as if simply thinking of the girl summoned her!

Ahh, scratch that. It was Hojo, bringing another piece of paper covered in notes. Kagome hid herself as best she could, watching as the librarian told her stalker that she had gone to the bathroom. Hojo sighed, a very touching show of his deep affection for her, but she simply willed him away; go, go away…

The phone rang on the desk, ending their conversation. Hojo smiled and took his leave.

"… Yes, yes she is… Okay, I'll tell her right away." The librarian trilled cheerfully. He hung up the phone, cutting off the principal. "Miss Higurashi, you have been summoned by the office. Something about your friend." He smiled apologetically as she wove her way through the waist-high shelves and tables again and handed her the paper when she reached the desk. "Another list of assignments, apparently from your physics class."

'Great.' Kagome though sarcastically, folding up the piece of paper and putting it in her pocket. She remembered how surprised Lidia had been that the skirt actually had pockets. She smiled.

"Thank you." She walked down the stairs quietly, wary that Hojo would still be waiting for her, and cursing the person who had decided the library should go on the top floor.

"Ah, Miss Higurashi, it's so nice to see you." The principal said in his creepily cheerful way. He had his usual smile plastered on, and his glasses gleamed.

"I was told that Lidia needed me?" Kagome asked nervously. The principal was just so… creepy!

"Yes, yes, right through that door. She said it was very important." The principal said. Kagome quickly walked through the door, wondering to herself the entire time why the principal was sitting at his secretary's desk.

"Hey, Kagome." Lidia's voice sounded from behind a curtain.

"Yeah?" Kagome asked. "What do you need?"

"I just wanted you to see why I can't wear short skirts." Lidia said, pulling back the curtain.

She was wearing the same shorts Kagome wore under her uniform, and a light tank top that was a size too large for her. Beside her on the nurses' office bed was the new uniform, a pair of socks, and her shoes.

Up and down her legs were scars; some thin, pale lines that barely stood out from her skin, and others that were angry and red like infected wounds. The majority of the scars were orderly, straight, and uniform in length. Lidia was looking down at her feet, ashamed.

The truly alarming scars weren't the two identical rows of scars on either leg; they were the terrible burn scars that had been inflicted by matches and cigarettes; the scars that had been from horrifying abuse, the scars that had been put there by animal claws and human hands.

"Wha… How…?" Kagome looked from Lidia's face to her legs, and back again, barely registering the ashamed look on the girl's face.

"Years of abuse, neglect… and self-inflicted torture." Lidia sat down on the bed, running her fingers over the row of identical scars. "But I wanted you to see these. They're one of my biggest secrets."

Kagome was dumbfounded. Kagome was shocked. Kagome was… crying.

"Don't worry, Kagome." Lidia said, standing up. She walked over and hugged Kagome around the waist, but not tightly. "I wanted you to know. I wanted you to know how much I trust you." She pulled back, placing her hands on Kagome's shoulders. "And I also want you to know that I'm never going to do it to myself again. Okay?" Lidia asked.

Kagome nodded. 'Now I know why I was so pulled to her. She's a tortured soul, so much like Inuyasha… She was practically crying for my help.' Kagome sighed.

"Thank you, so much." Lidia said. She carefully wiped the tears from Kagome's face, and directed her to sit down on the bed while she put on her uniform skirt.

"If you have any big secrets, you can tell me, you know." Lidia said from behind the curtain.

Something in her voice let Kagome know that she wouldn't have shown her the scars yesterday, even if they had known each other for the entirety of their lives. Something told her she wouldn't have been offered an outlet for her biggest and darkest secrets the day before, either. The tiny nagging voice in her head overcame her tears and she realized something.

The girl had changed. Something in Lidia's life had shifted so drastically that she knew, deep in her very soul, that she would never be the same.

It frightened Kagome the slightest bit.

********

Kagome had changed.

She was more focused now than she had been the day before. She wasn't glancing out the windows as much; she wasn't twiddling with her hair. She was sitting patiently and working on her physics homework with the most serious effort she could produce.

However, the expression on her face was belying her thoughts; she was obviously thinking, in the back of her head, that the math she was doing now would never apply to her life.

"Kagome, what are you going to do after school today?" Lidia asked.

"Probably working with you again." Kagome said, biting the eraser of her pencil. She quickly tapped her calculator and wrote down the answer she had been given.

"Wrong. You multiplied incorrectly." Lidia said. She lowered her voice. "You're certain I don't look like a laughing stock?"

"You look fine." Kagome whispered back before growling as she erased her answer. "How did I mess up?"

Oh, yes; Kagome had changed quite a bit. Maybe it wasn't just her little view into Lidia's previous life; maybe something else had changed.

"Here." Lidia pointed to the very beginning of the problem. "You copied it out of the book wrong." Kagome looked up and glared at the girl, but she was just met with twinkling, innocent eyes.

'Fifteen minutes wasted on that problem…' she angrily erased the entire thing before consulting her book again. "I forgot to add a decimal? Are you serious?" She glared at Lidia again.

"Lunch begins in ten minutes." Lidia tapped the paper in front of Kagome. "And practice makes perfect."

Kagome growled.

********

That girl had worried Kagome for the last time!

… Well, that was what Inuyasha had though when Kagome and the other girl - Lidia - had returned from the office place. He sat in the same tree again, watching them from a different branch that was angled just so he could see them perfectly through the window.

The way Kagome and she had acted was alarming. He didn't like it. They were closer, as if the girl had been traveling with them in the past for months instead of meeting them a day ago.

The girl was incredibly concerned with her appearance, he noticed. She was continually whispering to Kagome, asking for reassurance. She was obviously much more comfortable in her pants than she was in that incredibly long skirt.

This girl, who could be so overbearingly weird and comfortable in her skin, was changing. Not a gentle shift, but a full-blown push; her eyes were the same color as before, but the way they looked seemed maniacal, as if she was slowly going insane. As if she had given up on life itself…

He imagined that was what his eyes might have looked like before he met Kikyo. Before he had met Kagome.

He relaxed his tense position. If the girl needed Kagome to heal her too, fine. He could share for a little while.

The girl laughed at another mistake Kagome had made in her 'Fizz-icks' homework. Inuyasha's hands tightened their grip on his elbows again.

Maybe he would share Kagome with the crazy girl. If she was lucky.

*******

Yep, they had definitely changed.

Lidia lagged behind as Kagome told Inuyasha about what had happened that day, from the librarian to how difficult her homework was. Lidia simply smiled, twitching her skirt the slightest bit to make it more comfortable. One of the scars kept snagging on the cotton… she dug in her pockets and smoothed out the fabric again.

She glanced back at the two people in front of her, talking about anything but the world around them. They had apparently forgotten about their audience, because Inuyasha bumped his hand against Kagome's, an intentional bump that Lidia recognized off the bat.

'Wow.' She though to herself. 'It's just like watching a teenage romance.'

She watched as Kagome took Inuyasha's hand, and silently cheered when Inuyasha started rubbing her hand with his thumb.

"Hey, guys!" Sota said loudly from behind the entire group. Kagome and Inuyasha dropped the other's hands as if they'd been electrocuted, and Lidia turned around.

"Lidia? You look so different!" Diversion complete, Lidia thought to herself. The shot she sent Kagome clearly meant, 'You owe me one.'

"Uniforms can do that to a person, squirt." She said, using his head as an armrest as she caught up with Inuyasha and Kagome.

"Hey Inuyasha, hey Kagome." Sota said. "Get your arm off me, Lidia!"

"No. I don't have to." She retaliated. She grinned at Kagome, and Sota pouted at Inuyasha.

"Well, Lidia, if you want him, you can have him." Kagome said, joking. Not that Sota could tell. To him, it sounded completely serious.

"What? Mom would never let you get rid of me!" Sota said. "Neither would Inuyasha!"

"Are you so certain?" Kagome asked. Lidia winked at Kagome, then bent over and picked Sota up, holding him over her shoulder like Koga had once done to Kagome.

"You'll make perfect food for my pet vampire." Lidia said, her voice as serious as her face was deadpan. Sota started squirming again.

Kagome laughed.

*******

Another week went by. The spring sun grew warmer; the air became full of flowery scents. Kagome began visiting the past every evening as she caught up on her homework, and Inuyasha spent the night at her home every night she stayed in the future.

Lidia visited Kagome's house instead, saying that Miyuki was in a bad mood, or that the cleaning lady was busy vacuuming. Inuyasha was never more than a room away when she was lying through her teeth.

"So, what are you guys doing for Golden Week?" Lidia asked from her fort of math, physics and health books. She peeked over at Kagome, who was working on a particularly difficult Geometry problem.

"Wrong again." Lidia said. "But you're getting better. You messed up… here."

Kagome sighed, erasing the last step of the problem. She _was_ getting better, though. She had turned in most of her make up work, after an entire week - not to mention, weekend - studying with Lidia in the library and each other's homes. Ayumi helped, too, and Yuka helped as well, but Eri was too busy being engulfed in her new social status to help much. It was quite obvious to anyone with eyes that Eri and Lidia despised each other, and would attempt to drag Kagome away from one another as often as possible.

"So… Golden week? Any plans?" Lidia asked again. She began lounging again, reading a manga Kagome happened to have lying in her room.

"Hmm? Oh, no, not really." Kagome said, before correcting herself. "I'm just going to see some out of town friends - they live in the old capital."

"Oh, Kyoto, huh? That's cool." Lidia said. "Will you be gone the whole week?"

"Yeah. I know, it would be a perfect opportunity to revise, but friends are important, too." Kagome chuckled to herself. She was happy, in her element; the future was one of the few places where she felt…

"Oh, shoot; it's six o'clock. I need to get going." Lidia jumped up, surprising a certain dog demon that entered the room at that precise moment. She landed on her feet, grabbed her bag and charged out the door with a shouted 'goodbye'.

"What is it with people shouting in my ears in the hallway?" Sota asked, coming into view through Kagome's doorway. "Aw, sweet! A fort!" He ran over and looked through the pile of books Lidia had made previously.

Inuyasha's nose twitched. He had thought… just for a minute there, he could have sworn there was a demon other than him in this house.

********

Lidia slowly closed the door behind her, dropping her bag beside the doorway. She walked past the unused library, the untouched living room, and back into the spotless kitchen.

She opened the fridge and poured herself a glass of milk, throwing the now-empty carton away. Slowly drinking the glass of milk, she shuddered with each cold mouthful. She concentrated on the most recent cuts, holding her hands above them, feeling through the skirt.

A small rumble began in the back of her mind, increasing to a loud, thunderous crash as she determinedly focused on her scars.

She could feel the wound stitching itself together, binding together again. She sighed, her hands shaking from the effort it took to heal her physical injuries days - even weeks - after she had received them.

Her sweaty hands almost dropped the glass as she raised it one last time to drain the contents. Once again, she shuddered from the taste of the liquid, and she herself rose, placing the glass in the sink until the morning. She slowly stumbled up the stairs, walking to the end of the hallway where she stripped down to her tank top and shorts before crawling into bed.

She felt the scars one last time before she drifted off to an early sleep, her night uninterrupted. She mumbled aloud her last thought before she fell into her dreamless slumber.

"There is still a lot of changing to do."

She didn't toss and turn anymore, as she used to before she moved; after all, what was there to disturb her sleep in an empty house?

*********

There you have it, chapter three. I'll put it up as soon as possible, but I'm also working on the later chapters, so it will be a while. Please Review!


	4. Chapter 4

Next Door Neighbor

Chapter Four: Sunday

****

In my mind, she's always wearing white.

A sundress. No sleeves, no collar.

A vee-neck. A tight waist.

Her hair changes. Sometimes blonde, other times, crimson, or obsidian.

There is always wind. Always knee-high grass.

I never see her face, but there is always the impression of a smile.

Happiness is what I see when I think of her.

But who is she?

Lidia woke with a start. The same dream, time and time again, that woke her. She sat up, pulling her finger through her hair with something akin to annoyance. It should have been irritating, waking up time and time again to the same thing, but she couldn't make her self angry at what she believed would be the most beautiful person imaginable. The most...

Her gaze lingered on a picture of Miyuki. Her smile turned into an impassive face, blank and careful. To cry would ruin it, to falter would shatter the mask she had carefully crafted from her broken heart. She looked away from the photo of happier times and picked up her ring. She polished the stone for a few seconds before sliding it onto her forth finger.

Then she smiled the fakest smile she had ever smiled, preparing for a day without friends or family.

*****

Kagome took a deep breath of the fresh air, sinking into the water that was still slightly chilly. Sango was already settled on the other side of the deep creek, using some shampoo to get a particularly nasty piece of demon out of her hair.

"So, tell me more of this Lidia girl." Sango said. She dunked underwater, popping up a few seconds later, demon-chunk free.

"She's odd, even by my time's standards." Kagome said. "She certainly uses it to her advantage, though. Even when she told me that she cut herself..." Kagome paused, trying to recall exactly the feeling she had that day, that hour in time.

"Cut herself?" Sango asked.

"It's something that some people in my time do." Kagome paused her previous train of thought for a moment. "I think Lidia cut herself because she felt she should be punished. She promised me that she would never do it again, and I believe her. I think it has something to do with Miyuki."

"And Miyuki is the younger sister?" Sango asked.

"Yes. There is... something odd about them, though. Not bad odd, though." Kagome said at Sango's look. Sango had heard the story about the Noh mask, and she knew that there were still some dangers in Kagome's time that she hadn't been told of. "Can you hand me the shampoo?" She squirted a liberal amount of the goo into her hand.

"How odd do you believe they are?" Sango was busy working some conditioner into her hair.

"Well, I haven't seen Miyuki in a while." Kagome flicked some lather from her eyebrow. "I don't really know why I get that feeling, but there's definitely something odd about them. I talked to Inuyasha about it, and he said that they both smelled weird - What do you think that means?"

"You said they were from a different country, didn't you?" Kagome nodded. "It could simply be the lingering scent of their homeland, or some hereditary difference from what he's used to."

They both ducked under the water to rinse their hair, giving Inuyasha just enough to grab Miroku without alerting either of them. Inuyasha carried the now unconcious monk to the campsite without delay, to be greeted by a bored Shippo who had tried, unsuccessfully, to get Kirara to play with him.

"I'm gonna tell you that you spied on them!" Shippo said, loudly enough to let Inuyasha know the boy was going to lie to get whatever he wanted.

"Okay, runt. What do you want?" Inuyasha grumbled, tossing Miroku onto the uncomfortable looking roots of a nearby tree.

"I don't want to be called runt anymore." Shippo said seriously. He glared up from his spot by Kagome's backpack.

This took Inuyasha by surprise. "Keh." He muttered. If he was going to be honest, he really didn't know what to say. "Fine. But I wasn't spyin' on them." Inuyasha huffed.

Shippo brightened at Inuyasha's response, before looking up at him sharply. "You weren't 'Admiring the female body', were you?"

"Hell no!" Inuyasha glared at the kitsune.

"Just checkin'." Shippo smirked. "What are you gonna call me, then?"

Inuyasha sighed and wished that the other two would hurry up. "How's Kid?" He sat down in a huff.

"Better... But 'Shippo the Great' or 'The Wonderful Shippo' sounds even better." The little boy grinned at the older boy, who was slowly getting angry.

"How's 'The kid I'm not allowed to kill but would if given the chance?'" Inuyasha growled.

"Kid's fine." Shippo half-laughed, not quite fearing for his life, but not quite willing to push the half demon until he would have to.

Inuyasha settled back to grumble a bit about perverted monks and irritating fox kids while Sango and Kagome finished their baths and conversation.

"So you don't think I have anything to worry about?" Kagome asked cautiously. She was drying her hair roughly, getting as much water out of it as she possibly could. After all, it was only March; she didn't want to catch a cold.

"I don't believe so. After all, other than the amount of knowledge she posesses, she could barely be harmful. She doesn't seem... How would you put it? Mad?" Sango pulled her obi around her waist and tied it.

"No, but the wrong word can send her into a deep depression. I mentioned having an annoying younger brother and she suddenly froze, like..." Kagome threw her head back, tying her hair up before putting her shirt on. Her mother had convinced her that her uniforms should be spared, so she now wore jeans and t-shirts, mostly clothing that she could easily replace, off the peg in one of the value stores near her home. "Like you do, whenever Kohaku is mentioned."

Just as Kagome said, her friend paused in her preperations, glancing up. "I see what you mean." Sango said, her voice solemn. Kagome wasn't smiling, and hadn't been for some time, so Sango took no offense to the comparison.

"What are you going to do about school now that Naraku has been defeated?" Sango asked. She had heard enough about 'school' to refer to it casually now.

"I think I'm beginning to pass my classes again." Kagome joked, referring to how Lidia had been coaching her in every subject thus far. "Only a few more years. Only a few more shards, too."

"You would believe that Naraku had obtained them all, in the manner of which he spoke of them." Sango picked up Kagome's toiletry bag and joined her. "Although, we must still aquire the two that Koga posess."

"There are at least four missing. Do you think they could be in the sea? Japan is a rather... narrow country." Kagome frowned at the tiny bottle before clasping the necklace around her neck. "On the plus side, we have at least three days worth of travel before I have to return to school. We should be able to get at least one." Kagome smiled at her friend and they walked into the woods, reaching the clearing just as Miroku woke up.

Five hundred years in the future was not such a pretty picture. Though the school had been given Saturday off in the name of Golden Week, Lidia would wander around without much to do. She had bought several shirts she was certain Kagome would approve of, a video game for Sota, a few manga for herself to read... though she never read for herself any more. When she had been living with Karen and Miyuki, she would read to Miyuki. Before that, she would spend her evenings teaching the other foster children how to read, and even before that, when she had belonged to that 'gang'...

"Why, hello Lidia. What a surprise." Kagome's mom was walking towards her, on the path that led toward the house on the shrine.

"Hello, Miss Higurashi." Lidia said. She turned and walked toward the older woman, carrying a canvas tote bag in one hand. "I though you would be with Kagome. She said she was going to visit some friends in the old capital, Kyoto."

Miss Higurashi was an expert at keeping secrets. She deflected Lidia's attempt with a casual glance around her and an even more casual tone of voice. "Oh, she doesn't like me around when she's with her friends. I don't worry, though. There's always a responsible adult around."

"That's good." Lidia didn't sound put out. "I found something I think Sota would enjoy; do you mind if I go give it to him, or is he in right now?"

"Oh, of course." Miss Higurashi smiled at the girl warmly. After all, she had been such a dear, helping Kagome catch up so quickly. "He's most likely in his room, if he isn't scrounging in the kitchen. Go ahead and let yourself in. I'm just going to clean up one of the shrines; the spring wind has knocked some things over."

"Oh, I won't take long. I'll come help you in a minute." Lidia said. She waved at Miss Higurashi over her shoulder as she went on her way.

"She's such a dear. I only wish Kagome and Sota shared her enthusiasm for history." Kagome's mom said to herself as she ducked into the small, tucked-away broom shed to collect a broom and dustpan.

Lidia gave Sota the video game and set the manga down on Kagome's desk, before making the bed anew and dusting off the table. She looked out the window and through the trees, wondering what it would be like to run, full speed, through the trees and brush until she had to stop. Whether it was the edge of the property or the end of her breath, she wanted to run, as fast and as far as she could...

Sighing, she locked the window and went downstairs, bumping into Kagome's grandpa, and being enlisted to help with moving boxes of souvenirs to the front building.

"Which shrine was Miss Higurashi going to clean earlier?" Lidia said, relinquishing her load to the single counter in the building. "I volunteered to help her."

"Hm? Oh, the shrines... There was one, the eastern-most... it had been vandalized recently. She was probably going to clear that up." The old man popped his back before opening the boxes. "Thank you again, my dear girl. If only Sota was as helpful as you." He smiled at her from over the shelves and boxes, and she smiled back. She knew which shrine he was talking about. It had been yesterday, Saturday evening, after a day of cruising the mall and avoiding Kagome's previous group of friends.

The walk back home had been uneventful, but the four teenage boys who had attempted to kidnap her had interrupted her peace.

After listening to them talk about what they were going to do to her, she knocked two of them out cold as they approached her, revealing that her hands had been free from the knot they had tied around them, and proceeded to kick their arses good.

Stress relief had never gotten better.

After assuring them that she would personally destroy them if they didn't tell her what they had been doing earlier that night, they admitted to defacing some shrines. She told them to clean themselves up before leaving them to their bruises and cuts. She kneeled down, whispering a single kind line into the ear of a pale, well-dressed member.

"Be a good friend. Help them get out. You have the resources."

She walked around the grounds, her footsteps silent among the many people visiting. They smiled, and laughed, reading the tiny information signs placed near the many shrines and artefacts. She smiled herself, introspective, as she approached the God Tree.

She made a wide berth, giving the families on tour their own opportunity to take pictures and enjoy themselves. Some small children were running around, catching pieces of paper that had once been attached to the God Tree. Lidia smiled and continued on her way.

She ducked and weaved through the rows of posts, each one having a paragraph of history written on it. She smiled again at the sight of Kagome's mom on her knees, sweeping up splinters.

"Hello." Lidia called, stopping to pick up a knocked over post that had a large shoe print on it. She read the paragraph with an air of amusement before turning again to Kagome's mom.

"Kagome?" Lidia asked, holding the post up. She set it down next to the other three that had been kicked over and moved on to picking up some broken urns.

"Oh, that. My father - Kagome's grandfather - said that we couldn't get married until we had picked out names from somewhere on the shrine." She moved on to sweeping up ashes and putting them into separate boxes with a loving hand. "Sota's name is somewhere to the west."

"Ah... Journey to the West, huh?" Lidia smiled at Miss Higurashi's confused look. "The history class read it last semester."

Kagome's mom shook her head, much like her daughter would do whenever Lidia was being odd.

"Is this how you normally spend your Sundays?" Lidia asked. "Picking up after miscreants?"

"No, this doesn't normally happen. I wonder if we should get the security upgraded?"

"You're already on top of a giant hill. Somebody's got to be determined if they're going to destroy something that belongs to you." Lidia sighed and looked at the pile of broken stands and urns before looking at the bright blue squiggles that covered the shrine itself. "How much do you think it costs to fix this damage?" Lidia ran her hand over the smooth stone.

"I wouldn't know. This hasn't happened before." Kagome's mom sighed, gesturing at the paint. "Normally it's just a few posts knocked over."

"Normally?" Lidia asked. She was facing away from the older woman, but her eyes had a steely glint to them.

"A few years ago a bunch of kids decided to deface as many shrines as possible. Within a week, over thirty of the smaller shrines had been attacked. We had to close the shrine and do a lot of maintenance. They got sent to juvenile hall, but now it looks like some of them have been released."

"I don't think that's the problem." Lidia said. "I saw some ruffians last night and avoided them; there were only four of them. I think they are the source of our problems. At least, this problem."

"Well, I'll have to report it anyway." Miss Higurashi was finished with her sweeping. She stood up, and Lidia helped her carry the boxes and trash back to the main shrine's back room, where they would put the ashes in different urns and order more posts.

"Thank you, Lidia." Kagome's mom said. She patted the girl on the shoulder and suggested they go back to the house and have some tea. "After all, Karen would have my head if I didn't thank you for helping."

Lidia was proud in herself for not letting her smile falter.

"Karen's been gone for a while now, hasn't she?" Kagome's mom asked. She glanced over her shoulder as they took a less-frequently used path towards the house. "Do you know where she's been?"

Lidia's smile didn't falter, but stayed, frozen, on her face. She looked down, before looking up and waving a hand in the air. "Karen said something about a shoot in Paris, and then a country-wide tour in Italy. Two weeks for the shoot and a month for the tour in Italy, or maybe even longer. Nothing to worry about."

Kagome's mom didn't seem convinced, but she didn't push the issue. After learning her daughter battled demons for an entire year - and almost died several times. There wasn't anything she could conceive that was worse than that, especially in this time. She let the issue go, and Lidia, walking behind her, barely breathed out of relief.

Later, Lidia swallowed her tears with her tea, keeping, at the very least, a small grin on her face. She laughed at Sota, Buyo, anything entertaining.

When the time came for her to finally leave, she approached her home with trepidation. She was as quiet as the night when she opened the door, and she marched, once again, to the kitchen. In the past two weeks, her legs had been healed, and her shoulders, and even her ribs. Instead, she opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of tweezers, and proceded to pull out splinters, one by one.

It was barely seven by the time she was finished, and her hands were red and raw. She ran hot water over them, then cold water, and finally dried off her hands, turning off the faucet with her wrist.

She climbed the stairs slowly, and, not bothering to undress, she collapsed onto her bed, thinking over her lies. She'd need more if she was going to stay here for more than a month... Maybe, though, it would be best if she didn't. She could cause a lot more damage than she needed.

She had proven that to herself many a time.

******

Kagome and the crew were slowing down for the day. Her watch said it was only seven, but the sun was already beginning to fall on the horizon. She turned to Sango, who was walking beside her, and asked her if there were any villages near here.

"I'm not entirely certain." The slayer's brow furrowed, trying to remember. "I do remember a village long ago, when I was barely a teen, but it was small. The people might have left."

"That's better than nothing." Kagome said. She was thankful for the new sneakers her mom had given her for her birthday. "We can at least count on a building to stay in."

"It may not be that simple. The village may have been burned down, or destroyed by demons when Naraku came to power again." Miroku added his two cents, turning around from where he and Inuyasha were walking.

"That's depressing." Shippo whined from the shoulder Miroku wasn't looking over. "Now they're gonna worry about nothing."

"Why do you say that?" Miroku turned back around. Kagome and Sango shared a glance, but continued walking, a bit closer to the boys, so they could hear the conversation.

"I can smell fire. Not a lot, but enough to mean people. Or civilized demons." Shippo said. "And there's a bit of smoke over there." He pointed to the west.

"Good job, Shippo!" Kagome said, rubbing the boy's hair. He smiled, and Inuyasha made a rude sound.

"I coulda told you the same thing." He said.

"But you didn't." Kagome said in rebuttal, not taking her eyes off of Shippo before she fell back beside Sango again. Kirara mewed from Sango's arms, looking into the woods.

Kagome and Sango both looked to their right, just in time to see the arrow shoot from the foliage and whiz by, barely missing Shippo.

A boy, about fourteen years old, stepped from the foliage, his bow still pointing at the group. He carefully reached into his quiver, pulling out an arrow and point it, too, at the group.

"My village would never accept you!" He said coldly. He pulled back on the string, pointing it directly at Inuyasha, who stood, arms crossed, placid.

The arrow was released with a distinct twang, and Inuyasha reached out and caught it with one hand. He barely raised his eyebrow as the boy righted his bow and reached for another arrow.

Inuyasha took one step towards him.

"Don't kill him, Inuyasha." Kagome barely whispered. Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder.

"I wasn't gonna." He said. He took another step, even as the next arrow took off toward Sango this time.

Kirara leaped from Sango's arms, transforming in the blink of an eye and catching the arrow in her mouth.

Inuyasha didn't give the boy a chance to aim at Kagome; in a flash, he had the boy by the collar, ripping the bow from his hand and the quiver from his back.

"Let me - GO!" The boy pulled a dagger from his side and swiped at the arm that held him up, but the irate dog demon knocked that weapon from his hand, too.

"Who are you?" Inuyasha growled in the boys' ear. The boy continued to struggle, kicking the demon wherever he could.

"Inuyasha! Let's just return him to the village and tell them what happened. We're going to need to explain the bow you broke anyway." Kagome said, ever the voice of reason.

"Fine. But I ain't carrying him the entire way." Inuyasha said, dumping the boy on the ground.

Kagome walked over and offered the boy a hand as he was rubbing his back from his unexpected meeting with the ground. She didn't expect the boy to grab the dagger from the ground and swipe at her hand.

"Hey!" Inuyasha shouted from his place at the boys' side. He made as if to kick him, but a glare from Kagome quelled the urge to physically harm the boy.

"Miroku? Would you come and help this boy, kind monk?" Kagome asked from where she stood.

"Of course, my lady." Miroku nodded his head at Kagome and walked across the path, his staff jingling. He took Kagome's place and offered his hand.

Kagome took a step back, smoothing her shirt. She hadn't been cut by the knife, but it had come awfully close.

"Who are you?" The boy asked suspiciously. His face was covered in dirt and ashes, to better blend in with the foliage and forest, and his clothes were in darkened shades, brown and blue.

"I am Miroku, a traveling monk. My friends and I are searching for a place to stay the night. We humbly request to stay in your village, finding it the closest." The monk was certainly putting the charm on, smiling just the right amount, using just the right amount of velvet in his voice.

"My village does not accept demons." The boy said with a glare.

"Ah, not even a half demon, a tame demon companion, and a mere demon child? None of whom will cause trouble or damage."

The boy was starting to crack, but Kagome had to wonder; was the rest of the village going to be this hostile? If that were the case, it would be better to just keep walking.

"I- I suppose not. Not if that's all. If you promise they won't be trouble." The boy managed, succumbing to the sheer amount of charm in Miroku's voice.

"What will the village's lord think of us staying in the village?" Miroku asked, holding out his hand.

"He would trust my judgement. My father is - was the villages' best warrior." The boy took the hand and stood, holding on to the dagger. He picked up his quiver and the snapped bow, looking at the bow with a hint of regret.

"That's better." Miroku turned and looked at the group, smiling brightly. He turned back to the boy. "My name, as you know, is Miroku. This is Inuyasha, and this is Shippo. The two ladies are Kagome and Sango, and this," He patted Kirara's head affectionately, "Is Kirara, our demon companion."

"Sango! I remember that name." The boy mumbled. "Where is it from..?"

"I'm a demon slayer." Sango said. She, too, patted Kirara on the head, signing for the demon to shrink to a more reasonable size. The now adorable instead of ferocious cat jumped into her arms.

"Yes! The demon slayers." The boy didn't smile, but he was noticeably warmer towards the slayer than he had been moments ago.

"Do you think the rest of the village will be that bad?" Kagome whispered to Miroku.

"I don't believe so. However, younger generations do tend to share the prejudices of the older generations." Miroku whispered back. They let the boy lead the way down the road, and Kagome almost ran into Inuyasha when they suddenly stopped.

"This way." The boy motioned. He stepped through the foliage carefully, not trampling on the thick underbrush, but choosing his way through with much thought. Kagome saw why. Several yards into the brush, the path started again, but the way was hidden from the road.

"What has happened since the members of my village were here last, I wonder?" Sango said. "The paths used to be as clear as the road."

The boy didn't bother answering her. He simply continued to lead them down the path.

"I don't know. Do you think trouble with demons?" Kagome asked. "It has been happening a lot lately, now that Naraku is out of the picture. The lesser demons are rising up and trying to be macho now that there is less competition."

"Possibly, but rejection isn't an entire uncommon thing when it comes to our group, now, is it?" Sango responded.

"Stupid prejudices." Kagome whispered under her breath.

"Here we are." The boy pushed a low tree branch out of the way, revealing a typical village, rice fields and all. "The lord will want to see you right away."

They walked through the streets, though they were oddly empty. It was approaching evening, though, Kagome tried to reassure herself; maybe they are just eating their dinners before they go to bed.

"The lord's manor is just ahead." The boy said. He walked swiftly up the hill, leading them to a large, two-story building.

"Lady Kagome... Do you feel something odd?" Miroku fell back and whispered to her, his face at once serious.

"Now that you mention it..." Kagome looked ahead, towards the building once more. This time, she saw it with unclouded eyes; there were spirits everywhere, and they didn't seem happy. "What are they?" She whispered. The grotesque faces and bodies of the spirits seemed physical. Something was giving them mass...

"I do not know." Miroku stopped walking at the edge of the property, though the ghosts were beckoning for him to join his friends on the other side. "Everyone! Come back!"

Kagome, closest to him, stepped back as quickly as she could, bringing Shippo with her. Sango and Inuyasha were not so lucky; spirits ensnared them and the boy, trapping and possessing them within seconds.

"Oh no." Kagome barely whispered. Kirara bit her way from Sango's hands and leapt as far away as possible, landing weakly on the other side of the property line.

Miroku took up his fighting stance, holding his wards up before him. "I can release Sango and the boy from their possession... Inuyasha, however, would be purified."

"Okay. So Shippo and I save Inuyasha?" Kagome said. Right now, before them, the prone figures of their friends stood; they glared at the small group on the other side of the line. Sango appeared to be a demon herself, and Inuyasha's eyes were red with fury.

"It may not be that simple. Something is controlling the spirits - a demon, if I had to guess. We would have to physically incapacitate our friends if we wanted to free them. And Inuyasha is no easy opponent."

"Why can't we attack the source?" Kagome asked.

"The demon is most likely inside the building. Neither of us could reach that far before being attacked, or even possessed."

Kagome reached back, into her quiver, and pulled out her bow. Miroku looked at her with a blank expression on his face; he clearly had not remembered her archery skills.

"Hit it!" Kagome whispered. She notched the arrow and pulled back, visualizing the arrow filling with her holy powers...

She let the arrow fly, and it arched through the air, shattering a window. What nobody was expecting was the bright pink flash that threw the three possessed friends forward, and the boy the farthest. He had barely crossed the invisible wall when he was free, coughing as if he had been drowning moments before.

"Wha... What happened?" He gasped. Kagome helped him sit up.

"The property was possessed. Something, most likely a demon, has taken over the lords' manor." Miroku explained. The boy looked up in shock.

"I cannot see anything." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"It is the holy powers Lady Kagome and I possess that allow us to see the vile spirits." Miroku said in explanation. "Consider it a blessing that you cannot see them."

"I will." The boy whispered.

Kagome readied another arrow, but Miroku stopped her. "Do you expect to slowly blast our friends over here? What if you hit just a bit too close?"

"I'm aiming for the house again. If we level it, we can see what is controlling our friends!"

"It's not in there!" The boy shouted, standing up. He wobbled slightly, but held onto Miroku's arm. "Recently, our priest died, by a demon's hand. He must have been tainted in life, and now his tainted spirit is wreaking havoc!"

"Why would the priest be buried in the back of the Lords' manor?" Miroku asked.

"He was the Lord's brother, as was my father."

"Your father and the priest died at the same time?" Kagome asked. The boy nodded.

"Okay. Miroku, you stay here and try to rescue Sango. I'm going around back."

Miroku once again brandished his wards. "Take one, my lady. It may prove useful."

"Thank you, Miroku." Kagome said. She walked just outside of the wall, shuddering when she saw the thick, purple cloud covering one of the graves.

"That the one?" She asked the boy. He nodded solemnly.

"Here goes nothing." Kagome notched a second arrow and let it fly, but, as it approached the grave, it slowly disintegrated into a pink mist.

"What happened?" Shippo asked. Like the boy, he had only see the arrow dissolve.

"The arrow almost reached the grave..." Kagome mumbled. She took out the ward and wrapped it around her next arrow, carefully visualizing the sheer amount of power she wanted in her arrow. She whispered a small prayer and let it fly.

Miroku was not having much luck in the front. Kirara was still weak, and his wards were disintegrating on contact. He pushed as much power into his wards as he could, though he only threw them at Sango. He was worried what the effect would be if he attacked Inuyasha.

He finally got tired of it. As he watched Kagome disappear around the edge of the house, he slapped as many wards onto his staff as he could, and threw it with as much force as he could at Inuyasha.

The possessed demon caught the staff easily, but was shortly zapped unconcious. Miroku reached out to grab the staff, pulling it back to him - only to find that the half demon had tangled his hand in the rings.

Using a bit more effort, he pulled one more of his friends to safety - Now all that was left was Sango. The spirits were crafty, though, and had pulled the girl farther back than the monk could reach without putting himself in danger.

"What the hell...?" Inuyasha shook his head, trying to get the ringing screams from his ears. He looked up in time to see the Monk unwrapping his hand, pulling the prayer beads from his fingers frantically, trying to get the beads off as fast as possible without breaking the string.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Inuyasha's voice was almost lost in the ensuing roar of wind.

The angered look on Sango's face was replaced with one of confusion as the wind tugged at her, pulling her forward even as she tried to stay still. She was determined to stay away from the wind tunnel - Or was it the spirits?

"Damn monk!" Inuyasha screamed, staggering to a standing position and falling on top of the monk, pulling him down to the ground just as Sango's body began flying through the air. She collapsed on the other side of the wall just as a bright flash shone from behind the manor.

"What in the world were you trying to do? You could have killed her!" Inuyasha shouted. "Next time, at least back up so you have more time to react when she starts flyin'!"

"Sango, are you okay?" Miroku got up and rushed to the girl on the ground. He didn't look over his shoulder as Inuyasha shouted and raved. He felt Sango's forehead, as if checking for a fever.

A sudden pain erupted in the back of his head. Inuyasha was holding his staff, the wards since scorched and fallen off. Glaring down at the monk, the irate demon growled again.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!" Inuyasha shouted again.

It takes guts to ignore a half demon who is about to kill you, but Miroku did it anyway. He turned almost immediately back to Sango, and Inuyasha paused. Had he been faking all those times Sango hit him? He had hit Miroku with at least - if not the same amount of force that Sango normally used. Maybe his head was getting stronger.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted from the side of the building. She glared at him; the dog demon quickly lowered the staff, dropping it on the ground beside the monk and slayer.

"Sango, wake up!" Miroku whispered. He had his hand on her shoulder, and for once, it didn't look like it was going to go any lower. "Please..."

Kirara mewed from the other side of Sango, nudging at her hand with her nose. She trilled again, this time looking at the monk.

"What happened?" Kagome asked. She looked back and forth between the three on the ground before looking up at Inuyasha, who stared back blankly.

"If she was possessed... Shouldn't she be better now? The grave was destroyed..." Shippo said from Kagome's shoulder.

Miroku spared a glance toward the boy, who nodded. Inuyasha looked around them. "Possessed?"

"The priest of the village was tainted by a demonic influence. He and the best warrior died together, but their spirits were too evil; we had to destroy them to release them." Kagome said. "You and Sango got caught by them."

"So by pulling them past the area of influence, they are safe, correct?" Miroku's brow furrowed and he glared, not intentionally, at Sango's face.

"And by destroying their graves." Kagome reminded him.

"So why isn't Sango waking up?" Miroku actually sounded close to tears.

"I... I don't know." Kagome put her hand on his shoulder, and Inuyasha tried not to growl again.

"We can stay in the manor tonight, can't we?" Shippo asked the boy, who nodded and lead them inside. Miroku carried Sango carefully, and Kagome could only watch sadly.

Inuyasha could smell tears. "Come on, girl." he said quietly. "Lets go set up a room."

*******

Miroku sat beside the door as Inuyasha shoved another mat out of the large closet. It was better than moving the unconcious - and once or twice, dead - bodies.

"She's breathing, monk?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes." Miroku watched Kagome enter the room with another jug of water.

"It looks like the Lord will be the first to wake up. The others are coming along, too. I think Sango should be fine soon." She sent a confident, reassuring smile at the monk.

Shippo held out the cups as Kagome filled them. Kirara lapped sedately from her rice bowl. Inuyasha spread the mats quickly, holding his breath to stop the dust from making him sneeze.

"Miroku?" Kagome held out a cup to the monk, who shook his head. Kagome gave him a 'Look', like her mom would sometimes do to her. He took the cup without making anymore fuss.

Cough.

Inuyasha looked around. Who had coughed? Everyone's eyes were on Sango, who coughed again before rolling her head.

She sat up slowly, looking around her. Her eyes landed on Kagome, then Miroku, and a few tears ran down her cheeks. Kagome got up to hug the sobbing girl, and her eyes landed on her wristwatch.

Two twentyfour, Monday morning. Her friend was alright.

*******

End chapter four. It was incredibly long. And it _sucked_. .

Please, read and review. Especially if you liked or disliked anything.


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